Police investigate death of Escondido couple

Investigators look in an open door at the home on Valle Lindo Road off of East Valley Parkway in Escondido where a fire was reported at 7:10 a.m. Monday and two people shot to death were found.
— Howard Lipin

Investigators look in an open door at the home on Valle Lindo Road off of East Valley Parkway in Escondido where a fire was reported at 7:10 a.m. Monday and two people shot to death were found.
— Howard Lipin

ESCONDIDO  Police are investigating the possible murder-suicide of a husband and wife whose bodies were found Monday morning inside their burning home in Escondido.

Federico “Fred” Silva, 62, was found dead in the master bedroom at the house on Valle Lindo Road with a single gunshot to the head. The body of his wife, Virginia, 64, lay nearby. Her cause of death has not been determined, said police Lt. Chris Wynn.

A small handgun was found on the floor near their bodies, Wynn said.

Silva, who along with his wife owned the popular Valley Produce & Nursery stand on nearby East Valley Parkway, had sent multiple notes that indicated he was going to take his own life, Wynn said.

Workers at the produce stand went into the home about 7:10 a.m. when Silva failed to meet them at the shop to open up for business. They found the bodies and reported the fire, which charred the living room and other areas inside the house but had not yet made it to the master bedroom.

The blaze was mostly extinguished when firefighters arrived, although there was heavy smoke damage throughout the home.

Investigators said the fire appeared to have been intentionally set using gasoline.

Silva apparently sent one note to a family member and handed another to a neighbor to pass onto a caretaker, Wynn said. The notes, written in Spanish, asked for forgiveness.

Based on information from the family and physical evidence, the deaths are being investigated as a murder-suicide, although authorities are also exploring other possibilities, Wynn said.

Family members gathered at the home but declined to speak with reporters.

Court records indicate Silva’s wife was in failing health.

Over the past year and a half, the couple has waged a fierce legal battle with their son, David, over the three-bedroom, three-bathroom home and surrounding property, of which they share 50-50 ownership.

In March 2010, Fred Silva sued his son for breach of contract, accusing him of taking out three mortgages for his half of the property and failing to make payments.

The two couples had a strained living arrangement in the home.

In April of that year, Fred Silva obtained a yearlong restraining order against his son, who was accused of threatening his father’s life and menacing him at the house, including putting a dead snake on the home’s doorstep.

By the next month, David Silva and his wife were $1.6 million in debt and filed for bankruptcy, according to federal court records.

David Silva in December sold his share of the home for about $25,000 to a lender, who in the last month filed suit against the parents in an effort to consolidate ownership of the house. The buyer, Michael Nicholson of Bonsall, asked the court to order the home to be sold.

Tax records show Fred Silva has been behind on a few tax payments on his business in the past, but no public documents could be found indicating recent financial troubles, besides the legal battle over the house.